Girl in the rain
by AngelOfSouls
Summary: Sanosuke finds a girl who is linked to his and Kaoru's past.
1. Default Chapter

A Girl in the Rain  
  
Sanosuke ran through the empty streets as the rain poured down upon him. "Man... I can't believe I fell asleep. Damn the rain!" he growled. As he turned down the next alleyway, the disheveled street fighter ran smack into someone.  
"What the hell was that? Look where you're going...." He started to say, but stopped short as he realized that he had run into a girl; she lay sprawled out on the ground as the rain and mud smeared her face.  
"I'm sorry, little missy. I didn't see you. I didn't think I'd hurt you bad though..." Sanosuke said as the girl repulsed as she tired to get up.  
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I'll just..." the girl replied but was silenced as she was caught with gasps of pain that sent her right back off her feet.  
Sanosuke tried to grab her as she fell. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he guided the girl to the ground. As he pressed his arms against her, he felt a warm liquid run down his arm and hand.  
"Blood," he said, muffling a cry of disgust. The blood now came more fluidly, gushing down the girl's side as Sanosuke battled to keep his cool. Picking up the wounded girl carefully, he carried her back to the safest place known to him, Kamiya Dojo.  
  
Sanosuke sat bunched up against the washbasin with Yahiko plastered to his side like the pest he was. As Ms. Magumi made her way from the Dojo, she stopped in front of Sanosuke but instead, talked to Kenshin.  
"Her wounds are deep. How she could have survived such a thing is beyond me...and yet, you survived attacks that I thought impossible. The girl is different though," Ms. Magumi said, eyes cold. Silence filled in around Sanosuke. Just as he was about to claim himself crazy, Kenshin spoke up.  
"That girl is a strong one, that she is. I'll have to go and talk with her when she awakens. What is the extent of her injuries, Ms. Magumi?"  
The red haired swordsman listened closely as the female doctor explains her finds. Keeping an interested face, he pieced together the information he was given and tried to look at it from another point of view; ok, this girl was found with extensive wounds to her left side, a long gash that ran from one side to the other.  
As Kenshin and Magumi talked further on this mysterious subject, they drifted away from the main part of the Dojo. As if being pulled by a mystical force, Sanosuke feels himself rise and walk to the Dojo door. Sliding it open, he entered and shut it quickly behind him.  
  
"Oh Sanosuke! I've brought some hot soup for you're guest!" Yahiko crowed from the doorway, but was sent to muffle groans as Sanosuke grabs him by the collar into a headlock.  
"Shut up! If you wake her up, I'll..." Sano whispers.  
"Oh, don't be so protective, Sano. You don't even know her name..." Yahiko replies, but changes the subject as he gets a dangerous glare from Sanosuke. "I brought her some soup." Grabbing the bowl from the child, he places it gently on the floor beside him. As Yahiko takes his leave, Sano carefully sets the sleeping girl in a sitting position.  
"Hey, c'mon now. Open your eyes and work with me here. That's it, its soup. Drink it all down," he says, lifting the bowl to the now awake girl's mouth. After downing as much soup as she could, the girl becomes aware of her guest and stifles a cry.  
"Where am I? Who are you? Why did you take me here?" She asks all at once.  
"Whoa there, missy. Once question at a time! Ok, my name is Sanosuke. You're at the Kamiya Dojo, and I brought you here4 because you were going to bleed to death," Sano answered slowly, as if he were talking to a child.  
"My name is Rorokko, and I...I have to go now," Rorokko said, trying to pull herself up, but was pushed back down by gentle yet firm hands.  
  
Walking outside, Sanosuke relayed Rorokko's story to the others.  
"She told me that she was attacked by someone. The medicine was starting to kick in so her story was weird. She said something about being attacked by the same people who killed her brother," he finished.  
Somehow, Kaoru had slipped in while Sanosuke was explaining. Now, as her face turned pale, she noticeably stepped from the huddled group and walked towards the Dojo. Ignoring Sano's complaints, she made her way through the door and into the room with Rorokko. Almost as soon as she had vanished, she reappeared. Her hair momentarily covered her face, but pushing the strands from her view, revealed a tear-stained face.  
"Its her. Its really her," Kaoru cried. 


	2. Blast from the past

Blast from the Past

Running from her friends, Kaoru knew that they would want to know more about the girl called Rorokko, but she could not take any more surprises. Entering the outskirts of the Dojo, her brisk run became a doleful walk. After all this time....

Back at the Dojo, everyone was confused at the scene Kaoru had just shown, but refused to say anything irrational.

"What was _that _all about?" Yahiko asked as he watched the dust clear in

Kaoru's wake. Shrugging off the innocence, he found it hard to cope with his growing curiosity. Who was the girl that lay asleep and injured inside? What did she have to do with Kaoru's odd behavior? Only emptiness and a sense of wonder followed his internal questions.

As day became dusk and the assistant-manager of the Kamiya Dojo had yet to return, the rest of the residents mingled around quietly. The last bits of sunshine fell below the horizon and darkness streaked the sky.

"Where is Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin wondered aloud as he finished the last of his meal. Alone he sat, for he had waited for the return of the stubborn Swordswoman. Standing up he realized the time and slowly stepped out of his room. The patter of his feet against the wooden floors echoed in his ears. Opening the door, he hoped he would catch sight of a disgruntled and hungry Kaoru, but no such luck intervened.

"Lets get you home. Your grandfather will be very worried about you, that he will," the redheaded former wanderer told the two little girls. Bending to pick them up, he thought he saw movement beside the edge of the Dojo, but thinking nothing of it, continued his task of escorting the two little girls home.

Wiping at invisible dust particles on her kimono, Kaoru tried to occupy her mind on anything but her past. But it had been so long since her departure... As dark consumed the land once more, the weariness became apparent to her as she distanced herself from her friends and everything she knew. Again she tried not to think of the past but found it difficult.

"Looks like little miss prissy is running away again!" came an almost distant voice from behind her. Her anger smoldering, Kaoru turned to face her opponent, and before she even realized it, she was yelling back.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" she screamed, but felt her stomach lurch as she saw the bedraggled form of Rorokko before her. Unsure of her feelings, she felt eight years old again.

Suddenly she was back in her little flowered kimono, dressed and ready for the carnival that was to be held in a few minutes.

"C'mon Kaoru, we're going to be the last ones there!" a much younger Rorokko called from outside. Pushing back the rice-paper door, little Kaoru ran to her friend and together, they walked to the festivities.

Again her mind was racing. Now she was ten years old, and hot tears found their way down her face. As they puddle on the dirt road, she couldn't find the strength to speak. All she could do was wave her hand to say goodbye as Rorokko was led away.

"Kaoru! Don't let them! Please..." Rorokko cried in vain. This would be the last time they would meet for seven years.

Snapping back to the present, Kaoru was barely aware of her feet moving below her. Side by side the two walked back to the Dojo to find (to Kaoru's great relief), no one to greet them. At least that's what they assumed. Pushing open the doors to where Rorokko had been, the two were pounced on upon the angry Sanosuke.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Sano asked as his face turned a bright purple. Unsure of what he might do if they dignified themselves with an answer, Kaoru let herself be ushered outside.

"I can't believe you...you could have injured yourself, well you know what I mean," said the less tempered Sano as he pushed Rorokko to bed. Tucking her in, he noticed that she was asleep before he could even say goodnight, which was ok by him because he didn't like mushy stuff like that. But he couldn't help notice the moistened glimmer of her lips as she slept...

Back inside, Kaoru had just run into the sleepy eyed Yahiko. Rubbing at his eyes, he yawned and frowned at the assistant-master.

"And where have _you _been?" He pursued, knowing all too well that Kaoru was no one to take talk like that from him.

"Now now, Yahiko. I bet Miss Kaoru is tired. You should go to sleep as well, that you should," Echoed Kenshin from behind the little swordsman. Pushing him back inside the room of which he had came from, the fiery-haired man led himself, and the following Kaoru, to his room. There, he had saved some Miso soup in hopes of Kaoru's awaited return.

"I was quite worried, that I was. You shouldn't have run off like that, Miss Kaoru," he said in a hushed voice. Thinking of the worst response from the hungry girl, Kenshin pushed her bowl of cold soup forward. Even with his curiosity rising, he knew from experience that Kaoru wouldn't be the kind to talk about her feelings until she was ready. Knowing this, he watched with growing affection, as the seventeen-year old ate.

As the sun dawned its presence on the land, signs of life began to awake within the Kamiya Dojo. First to make their presence known was Sanosuke, who thought he had waited long enough for his breakfast.

"Hey, Kenshin! This stuff is great!" he said as he dug into his breakfast.

"And what makes you think that I made it, Sano?" Kenshin answered.

"Well...Yahiko doesn't cook, and Kaoru's food tastes nasty," he said through a mouthful of food. To this, he received a severe blow to the head by a bowl, sent flying by the enraged Kaoru.

"For your information, I can so cook but it happens that she has always been good with food," came the misty voice of the young assistant-master.

"I never said you couldn't cook. I just said it tastes like sh..." Sano started to say, but was cut short as he dodged another flying bowl.

About to finish his sentence, he was once again cut off by the appearance of Rorokko. As she stumbled down the steps, he ran he assist her, only to find that her stubbornness was equal to his.


	3. Reason for hatred

Reason for Hatred

The wind whistled it's malevolent song along the hills and flats of the countryside. Unaware of the existence of others' lives, Sanosuke lay flat on his back in the cushy grass.

"Daydreaming are we?" Rorokko whispered from behind him. Without even sitting up, he pushed away the distraction of his own heart. He felt the girl's presence as she sat down beside him.

"It's been such a long time since I've felt this peaceful..." She said.

Opening his eyes, Sanosuke watched from the corner of his eye as Rorokko pulled her knees up and tucked her chin against them. He felt a sudden flutter like none other as he gazed upon her. Here, she sat as the wind blew her long, glowing hair as it wisped all around her face. When she pushed it aside he saw the sadness that lurked just below the surface. Just as he thought she would cry, she spoke again.

"My brother and I used to train together. He would teach me swordsmanship, and I would teach him what it was to have a younger sibling. We used to have so much fun, until..." Rorokko stopped short, unable to continue. She had told Sano before about how her brother had been murdered ruthlessly. How she would never forget that day and never forgive those demons that called themselves men. One day she would get her revenge.

"HEY! What did I tell you about blaming yourself? As you said, you tried to stop those guys," Sano interjected.

"Sano, did I ever tell you about my sister?" Came the somewhat happier voice of the girl. Sano shook his head, not really interested in the conversation, but going along with it anyway. _I would never be doing this if it were one of the brats..._

"She was very beautiful, she even had a fiancé. He was so nice... He used to pick me up and say 'what beautiful eyes you have. If only you were older.' Then he would laugh and tell me that one day maybe I would grow to be as pretty as my sister," Rorokko giggled as she recalled these memories, but her face grew sad once again as she continued.

"But, sadly he had to go into the military. They were like a group of farmers or something... And they won a lot of the other farmers on their side, but then the government started saying they were telling lies to the people. They were executed, every single one of them..." One solitary tear escaped and rolled hotly down her face.

Sanosuke dosed as he tried to listen to her, but no matter what he did, that last explanation would not settle in his mind. _Why did this sound so familiar?_

Finally it hit him. Sanosuke sat straight up, and looked at Rorokko as if he had just seen her for the first time.

He sat there studying her until she said, "What?"

Sano cupped his hands to his face and closed his eyes. Long ago he had heard something like this from a close friend; that is, about having a fiancé.

"Captain Sigara..." Were the words that fell like rain from his mouth. Why hadn't he seen it before? The Captain has shown him and the others a very descriptive painting of him and his fiancé. Also, their had been two kids in the picture; a boy and a young girl.

Letting his hands fall away from his face, Sano turned his head to Rorokko. He couldn't read the expression she now showed, but she would be the first and last to speak.

"So you knew him too...? He was a great man, and my sister would have been a great wife for him. I guess I am cursed in this world, for both she and my brother are dead. She died a few months after hearing about your Captain's death. She always told me that he had been murdered..." With that, she got up and walked back to the Dojo. At the last moment she seemed to change her mind and thus headed to the forest of trees that lay just outside of town.

Seeing no reason to go home at the time, Sano just lay back down on the grass and closed his eyes. To his astonishment, his stomach growled viciously, and he left his sadness behind and headed home.


End file.
